Love And Destruction
by lokiash
Summary: What happens when Angel and Buffy meet back up after both Sunnydale and Los Angeles fall, and Dawn becomes friends with Elena and Bonnie? How will Elena feel after Dawn starts crushing on Damon?
1. Chapter 1  :  A New Beginning

**-I own nothing. Hope you enjoy.-**

"You're going to be late for your classes." I opened my very tired eyes to see a beautiful Angel gazing at me. I had fallen asleep on his chest while studying for a final. We had been out late patrolling and there was no way I could have gotten any of it done without it, despite me falling asleep. He brushed my unmanageable hair from my face and kissed my forehead. With a smile I sat up and straightened my shirt.

"How late am I?" I looked around, always forgetting that Angel didn't have means for a clock. All he cared about was whether it was dark or light outside.

"The sun just rose." He got up and ushered me to follow him to his small kitchenette. I plopped down In his leather recliner, watching him make coffee. "Did you get enough rest?" I nodded my head, entranced in watching his fluid movements. Ever since Sunnydale and Los Angeles fell to ruins due to the biggest apocalypses either of us had witnessed, Angel had moved to the west coast. Me and Dawn had traveled overseas for a year or so and settled back down here. She had earned her diploma while we were in Rome, and now she is beginning her first year at NYU, exactly the same place where I picked up a few classes to finish out my degree, which I still haven't decided which direction I am taking with a International Business degree. I got snapped out of my thoughts with Angel staring down at me, handing me a cup of coffee. I accepted it graciously.

"What are your plans for the day?" I looked up at him over the rim of the cup. He had walked back to the sink, rinsing dishes from the previous night.

"Same thing I do every day. Nothing." He smiled.

"Don't forget that Willow and Kennedy are coming for a visit this weekend." He nodded his head and kept busy, not wanting to reply. He wasn't much for company these days. We had kept in touch while I was in Rome, he had actually come to Rome on business before Los Angeles fell. At the time, not telling me that a resurrected Spike was with him. I had blown him off; still unsure of the last visit I had with him before the final battle at Sunnydale. We had kissed, and it had brought back way too many emotions that I was not ready to deal with. When I had gotten wind of what was going on in Los Angeles I had left Dawn with Giles in London and flew to California, but I was too late. The city was destroyed and there was no sign of Angel. I had searched for days before coming across a demon that I had seen with Angel before, his name was Lorne. He had explained to me what had happened and got wind that Angel and Spike were the only ones to have survived the battle, and that each had fled the state. It was months after that that Angel had contacted Giles trying to find me. I had come back to the states and met with him, now living in Virginia. We had spent a wonderful two weeks together and I had decided that I wanted to be closer to him, so I packed up Dawn and moved to New York. It's not as close as I would like, but that is where Dawn got accepted to college. I only have classes twice a week, so I'll commute to see him and go back. Today was the day I had to go back.

I shuffled around in his bedroom, gathering my things to throw them in my duffel bag.

"I wish you and Dawn would move closer." I turned to see him standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"I know, we just can't right now. We talk about this every week." I set the bag down and walked over to him, slipping my arms around his waist. "You can always come up to New York." He shook his head.

"No way am I going back to a big city any time soon." He kissed me on the forehead as I let him go. He strolled into the room and picked up my bag for me. "Next week I'm going to have to take you around town. I love this place."

"I will just have to let you do that then." We hugged and held on to each other for what seemed like days. It has only been a month since I found him and decided to move away from Rome, which was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. We still were on the fence about each other. I've noticed so many changes in him that we haven't even touched yet. He actually hasn't been doing that much talking of what went on while he was in Los Angeles all those years. We agreed we didn't want to move too fast into anything, so I tried my best to keep things simple. He walked me out to my car and kissed me on the cheek. We actually haven't kissed since that night in Sunnydale when he gave me the necklace that saved us all. Slow and simple I keep telling myself, no need to rush. He watched me as I pulled out of the driveway and headed to the main interstate.

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	2. Chapter 2 : New Friends

**-Own nothing!-**

"_How was your trip to Angels?"_ As soon as I made it to me and Dawn's loft, my phone rang with a very excited sounding Willow.

"It was fine. I just got home, actually." I threw my bag on my bed and plopped down on our sectional couch.

"_Has he opened up yet?"_ I shook my head, almost like she could see me.

"No."

"_I'm sure in time he'll be wanting to. Are you sure you're up for me and Kennedy to come down?" _After Sunnydale had fallen and I and Dawn had fled to Rome, Willow and Kennedy went to visit Kennedy's family in Canada, where they decided to settle down. Willow opened her own Magic Shop, while Kennedy was preoccupied with the hell mouth that their town was centered upon. Willows spell she had performed that dreadful day by awakening all the potential slayers powers were only temporary. Unfortunately, while Faith and Wood moved to Cleveland where one of the other hell mouths was located, Faith was killed and Kennedy was next in line. Willow stressed out about it quite frequently and begged Kennedy to go on mini vacations with her all the time, always hoping she could save her.

"Of course I'm sure. I haven't seen you in months. Have you heard from Xander?"

"_No. My locator spells haven't worked, and his family hasn't heard from him, which isn't a real surprise. What happened to Anya really got to him, Buffy. He'll find us when he's ready I suppose._" Xander had disappeared after Anya was killed in the battle with the First. He made it with us so far as to the next town and while we were in a gas station loading up on food and water, he took off. And we haven't heard from him since, which is going on almost two years now.

"I guess. I'm constantly worried about him, though. I have to go; I'll be late for class." I jumped up when I noticed the time, and ran to my room to scoop up my book bag and keys.

"_Okay, yea. I'll call you on Friday when we head out."_

_"_Great, see you later." I hung up the phone and flew out the front door.

Class was boring as ever, and I rushed to the main lobby to meet up with Dawn. She was standing off towards the bottom of the stairs with a few of her new friends as I walked up to her.

"Oh, hey Buff. This is Bonnie." She motioned to the dark skinned girl to her right. "And Elena." Motioning to a very thin framed girl to her left.

"Hey." They replied with their own hellos. "Will you guys be joining us for dinner?" I asked. Almost hoping for them not to, but I'm sure Dawn has already handed out invitations to the loft. I had let her decorate it, so it almost resembles a college dorm room with bright and funky colors. I wanted to make sure she felt comfortable and at home where ever we were. She was over ecstatic when we moved to Rome, and was not very excited about moving back to the states. Hopefully, since she is already making new friends, this should go smoothly.

"We were actually going to go to this little club on 75th street tonight." Dawn informed me, with a sly smile. "Would it be okay if we got ready at the house though?" she asked, expectantly.

"No problem. I could use a night alone, I didn't finish my paper last night and got it extended to tomorrow, so I really have to take care of that." I motioned for them to leave. "Let's go, I took to the car today."

Dawn jumped up and down. "Awesome! I already hate the subway!" the girls chuckled and followed me out of the school and towards the underground parking garage.

As I unlocked the door, Dawn pushed past me with her friends in tow. Elena and Bonnie had huge eyes as they were given the royal tour of the loft.

"This place is great!" Bonnie proclaimed. Admiring the colors of the curtains and the funky modernized furniture.

"Well, make yourselves at home, I'm going to my office to start on my school work, let me know if you need anything." I exclaimed, as I walked into my room to change, then stepped into my office which was only accessible by entering through my room. This was the most artistic and interesting layout of a loft we found all over the city. It was kind of pricey, but after co-running a bistro in Rome for a year without having to pay any rent, I had plenty of money saved up for a loft and furnishing, with plenty left over in savings. Angel is always complaining how I'm spending way too much money and if we moved in with him we wouldn't have to worry about anything. I settled down at my desk and opened my laptop. I only had 4 pages out of a 25 page essay completed, I definitely had some work to do. I could hear the girls giggling and shuffling through things in the pantry, then Dawn poked her head in.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"No, I'll get something later. When are you guys heading out?" I rubbed my eyes, already my lack of sleep catching up with me.

"In a little bit, it's only 6. The place doesn't open till 8." She replied, backing out of the room.

"How long are you going to be out?"

"I have a curfew now?" she asked, sarcastically.

"Don't be like that, Dawnie. I was just asking. Go have fun, and make sure y'all clean up in there before you leave." I sighed and looked back at my computer, hoping I finish this before too late.

My phone rang and startled me awake. I jumped up and wiped my mouth of the drool that was beginning to form. I ran into my room and picked up the phone from the bed.

"Hello?" I answered, breathless.

"_Buffy? You okay?_" Dawn's voice seeped from the ear piece.

"I'm good, fell asleep." I looked to the alarm clock on my bedside table; it read 4:38AM. "Everything okay?"

"_Not really. We are headed back right now, we had a run in. Vampires. See you soon."_

"Wait. I can come get you!" My heart started pounding.

"_No, we are almost there. I was just making sure you were home and up. We might have to do some explaining." _She hung up and I slipped my cell phone in my pocket. I jogged to the living room and started turning on lights. I paced the room, opening curtains to peer out, and then closing them. Felt like eternity passed by before I heard the door knob moving. I ran over and opened the door, ushering the girls in.

"What happened?" I asked Dawn, keeping an eye on Elena and Bonnie, who seemed quite fine.

"Hey guys, hang out, get something to drink. I got to talk to Buffy for a sec." Dawn turned and took my hand, pulling me into her bedroom. "We were having a great time, dancing and stuff. These guys were hanging out with us, buying us drinks, dancing with us, just having a good time. When we decided to leave they followed us outside, wanting to walk us back here. When I refused they got a little pissy." I listened intently. "They started chasing after us, and one of them pushed down Bonnie. When the street light hit his face he totally had the vamp face. We pulled Bonnie and took off running when people were coming out of the clubs. We lost them, but I don't know what to say to them." She sat on the bed, waiting for my response.

"They honestly seem fine. Maybe they didn't notice his face, and they live out here right? Maybe they are used to guys like that." Dawn shook her head.

"They aren't from around here. They just moved out here for school, too. Around the same time we did." I sat at Dawns desk, and raked my brain.

"Let me do the talking. All we can do is be honest and up front." She seemed concerned. I grabbed her hand and lead her back into the living room. Elena and Bonnie were sitting on the couch, talking quietly amongst themselves. "Hey girls. Can we talk for a minute." They watched us while we sat down across from them.

"You don't have to try to explain anything. We know what happened." Elena started. "They were vampires." I looked at Dawn as a smile crept across my face. "Back where we are from, there are a few vampires there."

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"Mystic Falls, Virginia." She replied. My mouth dropped slightly.

"That is where Angel is living now." I said to Dawn.

"Who is Angel?" Bonnie asked. "We pretty much know everyone there."

"He's my ex.. well, he's my friend. He moved there a couple of months ago. I'm not sure of the exact time." I informed her.

"Oh, okay. That's probably why we haven't heard of him. He must stick close to home." She said.

"Pretty much. Okay, well, since we really don't have to talk about much, I'm glad to see everyone made it out of it okay. You guys are more than welcome to crash here. Dawn and I have classes in the morning." I explained.

"We do too." They replied in unison.

"Alright, we'll all ride together. Dawn, if you could show them where everything they need is, I'm going to crawl in bed." With that I practically fell into my bed, before covering up I was already out.

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	3. Chapter 3 : Mystic Falls

**-Thanks for the review. Sorry so late on updating, too early for a writers block. Any suggestions and comments are more than welcome. Criticism as well!  
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**-Once again, I don't own characters or anything. **

"Would it be okay if I came with you to see Willow?" Dawn asked. This morning was hectic, four girls frantically trying to shower and get ready for classes, we were all almost late. Now classes were over and I was meeting Dawn in our usual place. I looked out the windows, people watching, when Dawn approached me asking me her question.

"Of course, she would love to see you." I hooked arms with her and we strolled down the hall to the dining hall. "Find us a booth, I'll grab us some lunch." Both of us only had one class this morning, and I was excited when it was over. I made a bee line for the cafeteria, sighing with relief seeing it wasn't long. I grabbed some sandwiches and chips and made my way looking for Dawn. I spied her across the room, sitting with Bonnie and Elena. I suppose I should get use to them being around, they seemed like good girls so far. Definitely helps with their knowledge of what goes bump in the night, I'm sure it helps with Dawn that she has people her age she can talk about those things with. I made my way over and scooted in next to Dawn. I started eating, while listening to their conversation.

"That's awesome you are coming to Mystic Falls this weekend. We will have to introduce you to everyone!" Elena said, very excited.

"That would be great!" Dawn seemed even more excited to be going. Now I wonder how much of her Willow and Kennedy would see. "Do you think Willow would mind if I hung out with them for a day?" she asked me, hope filling her eyes. I shrugged, swallowing the rest of my sandwich.

"I'm sure it will be fine." I replied. "But, we should be going. We need to pack." I gathered my trash together and patiently waited for their conversation to die down. She finally noticed me impatiently tapping my nails on the table and said goodbye to her friends.

"Call me when you get into town." Elena stated.

"I will!" Dawn said as I was half dragging her out of the cafeteria.

We made it back to the loft quicker than I expected and Dawn ran straight to her room to start packing. I decided to call Angel. I hadn't spoken to him almost all week, and I needed to let him know about the holiday on Monday, because we didn't have any classes.

"Angels' phone." A deep voice answered, totally not Angels' voice.

"Can I speak to Angel?" I asked, slightly irritated. Who in the world would be answering Angel's phone. He never was a people person to have friends, especially ones to answer his phone.

"Of course you can, Buffy." The man answered. A few moments went by before I heard shuffling through the receiver and Angel answered.

"Hey, Buffy."

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Oh. That was Damon. I went into town yesterday, and I met him at the Grill." He explained.

"Oh – okay. Well, I was just reminding you about me and Dawn coming up this weekend, and about Willow visiting." I informed him.

"I remember." He replied, sounding distracted.

"As soon as we get packed I'll be on my way."

"Uh-huh." I pulled the phone away from my ear to take a few breaths before I exploded on him for acting this way.

"Bye." I hung up before he could give me another half-hearted response.

Dawn peeked her head through my door. "I'm ready." She proclaimed. I nodded my head and strolled over to my closest to retrieve my duffel bag. She sighed heavily. "You haven't even started?" she squeaked.

"No." I threw my bag on the bed and started going through drawers while she ran into my bathroom to gather up all my things. "You're acting like we're moving." I chuckled. She ignored me and continued helping me pack.

"Have you talked to Angel?" she asked while I zipped up my bag and heaved it over my shoulder. We walked into the living room and I plopped the bag down on the couch next to hers.

"Yea. He has a new friend." I replied.

"Angel with a friend? Is he evil again?" I chuckled and grabbed my purse and keys.

"No. Atleast I hope not." With that we left the apartment, got in the car and started our journey to Mystic Falls.

By the time I pulled up into the small town, the sun was already setting. It was Thursday so not too many people were strolling through the streets. Willow and Kennedy decided they wanted to stay at the small inn in town for the weekend, and for almost an hour all I could hear in the car was Dawn begging me to let her stay at Elena's house all weekend as well. I finally gave in just to shut her up.

"This is tiny." She muttered. She had fallen asleep the last hour or two and must have noticed my constant stopping at all the red lights and stop signs.

"Not too much smaller than Sunnydale." I reasoned. She nodded and continued to gaze out the window. "Am I taking you to Elena's house or what?"

"She said to meet her at the Grill." She responded. Great! I thought. That is where Angel said he met this Damon fellow.

"Alright, let's see if we can find it."

It wasn't too long before we happened across it. There wasn't very many shops or restaurants, and the Grill was the most happening place. You could see through the windows at all the people standing around playing pool and drinking. I decided to park and go in with her, maybe get a drink.

"Dawn!" I heard yells. In the far corner was Elena, Bonnie and a few other people crowded around a pool table. She took off in that direction as I made my way to the bar. I sat and ordered a drink, gazing around the place, taking in the crowd. There were plenty of younger people and a few older having dinner. This didn't seem like a bad place at all.

"Hello, miss." A deep, sultry voice crept over my shoulder. I slowly turned and a handsome, dark man sat to my right. He had sparkling blue eyes and dark hair.

"Hi." I responded, almost entranced.

"You are new around here." He proclaimed. I snapped out my trance to respond.

"Yes and no. I'm just here to visit." I responded. I looked back down at my drink and took a few sips, feeling his deep stare.

"You should let me show you around sometime." He purred.

"No, that's okay." I forced out.

"Why's that, beautiful? Have a boyfriend?" I grimaced at the word and shook my head.

"Not in a long time." I decided to scoot one stool over, put some space between me and this man. He stayed glued in his spot, which was a good decision.

"Are you giving this young lady a hard time?" I looked up to see another man pat him on the shoulder and wink at me. He was quite attractive, too.

"Not at all, Alaric." He responded, shooting him a glare.

"Then you wouldn't mind me joining you." He took the stool that was between us and turned to me.

"I'm not interested." I persisted. He chuckled and stuck out his hand.

"I'm Alaric. And, I'm not offering." I took his hand. "And, this crazy friend of mine is Damon." So, this was the infamous Damon that has Angel distracted.

"Hi." I responded. Not wanting him to know that I was Buffy, the woman calling his new bud.

"Do you not have a name?" Alaric asked.

"I do." I sipped from my drink. "I just like to keep it to myself." He shrugged and turned to Damon, mumbling under his breath. They continued their conversation, possibly having forgotten about me. A hand was placed on my shoulder and I almost jumped out of my seat when I looked up to see Angel standing over me.

"I thought you were coming to the house when you got to town." He said.

"Sorry. I had to drop off Dawn here with some friends, and decided to have a drink."

"Angel!" Damon exclaimed. "You need a drink!" Angel strolled over to Damon and accepted a glass from him. Damon looked back at me and winked. "So, that must be Buffy." He muttered to Angel.

"Yes." Angel looked over him and smiled at me. "I remind you, she is not to be toyed with."

"Ah, yes. The vampire slayer tales you have told me. Does she know of me?" Angel shook his head and walked back over to Buffy.

"Let's get back to my place. Willow had stopped by a little earlier and said her and Kennedy were going to have an early night and will be meeting us for breakfast in the morning." He informed me.

I threw back the rest of my drink and with a glare shot at Damon I followed Angel out of the Grill.

-**Please review! Thanks for reading. Next chapter up soon!**


	4. Chapter 4 : Breakfast With Willow

**-Thank you so much for the reviews. Keep them coming. This chapter is a little short, but Chapter 5 is going to be pretty long, just to prepare you!**

**Once again, I do not own the characters.**

Angel's house was on the outskirts of town and it didn't take that long to get there. He had walked to the Grill, which isn't surprising considering after he lost his car in Los Angeles he hasn't gotten a new one. He grabbed my bags out of the trunk as I followed him up to the door.

"I tried to tidy up a bit." He said, as he tossed the bags on the couch.

"You're place is never messy." I chuckled as I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge.

"You just haven't seen it that way yet." He smiled and walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I enjoyed his touch for a moment before snapping out of it and pulled away from him. My heart beat started racing and I needed space between us to get control over it. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking slightly hurt.

"I'm fine. Just need a minute." I strolled over and sat on the arm of the sofa as he leaned against the counter studying me. "Tell me about Damon." I demanded. A slight smirk spread to his lips.

"I told you I met him at the Grill one night." He started. "I was walking around town one night and decided to stop in for a drink, he was sitting at the bar and immediately started a conversation. Nothing really important."

"Does he know what you are?" I asked. He nodded. "Is he one too?" he nodded again.

"He's okay, Buffy." I relaxed and slid to the seat of the couch, rubbing my eyes.

"Dawns friends were talking about there being supernatural things in this town, they were familiar."

"Yes, so far all I've encountered or heard Damon going on about is vampires, werewolves and witches." He explained.

"Well, Willow fits in."

There was a few moments of silence as we both got lost in our thoughts.

"Damon has been helping me with my poor opening up skills." Angel stated. I raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him. "I've spoken a little about us."

"I see." I started fuming at the thought that he would open up to a complete stranger but has difficulty talking with me. He walked over and rubbed my shoulders.

"That's a good thing, right?" I just nodded. "Would you care to talk about anything, or would you like to get to bed?" he asked.

"I am getting tired from the drive. But, I could stay awake for a little bit." He walked over and sat in the chair across from me.

"What would you like to know?" There were way too many things floating through my head at that moment. So many things that I have been dying to ask, but all I could concentrate on was the fact that he was wanting to talk.

"What happened in Los Angeles?" he rubbed his face in his hands and took a deep breath.

"To make an extremely long story short. You know that I got involved with Wolfram and Hart, well, I got ear of some things going on behind the scenes and used it to my advantage to bring the corporation down. Things didn't go to plan, and I lost a lot of people on the way." I sat and listened, soaking in every word. "Once we lost the city, we fled. I hear that Wolfram and Hart rebuilt themselves and the city is back to "normal". I will never return there." He paused for a minute.

"Giles had filled me in on what happened there. I just wanted to know what happened to you. Where did Spike end up?" he raised an eye at me.

"Do you want to find him?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"No. I was just curious."

"When I left, we separated in New York. He kept talking about finding you and wanting to go overseas." He replied.

I shifted in my seat. "Well, he didn't find me."

"Obviously. You look exhausted. Let me put you to bed. We have breakfast with Willow early." I nodded my head and he lifted me from the couch and carried me to bed.

"Will you lay with me till I go to sleep?" I asked, eyes already closed.

"Yes." I felt his warmth against me as sleep was over taking me.

* * *

><p>"Willow, we are going to be late!" Kennedy yelled from the other room. The bed and breakfast in town was wonderful. It was like an apartment. I walked out of the room to a beaming face. I walked into her arms and accepted the loving kisses on my face. "Let's go, we can't keep them waiting."<p>

She pulled me from the place and jumped into our rental car. We drove around town a few times before finding the small diner tucked away. We pulled up and I could see Angel and Buffy sitting at booth in the back corner.

"Wait a second. I thought we were meeting just Buffy today. Why is Angel out during the day?" I started panicking. Kennedy placed her hand on mine.

"Honey, calm down. It's something about a ring and magic. Right up your alley." She got out of the car and rushed to my side before I could even reach the handle.

"Thank you." I smiled up at her. I loved having her away from the slaying. Her attention is always on me and she smiles more in these short days than in a whole year. We strolled into the quant diner and slide into the booth.

"Willow!" Buffy jumped up and hugged me. "I've missed you so much!" she squealed.

"I've missed you too. And you as well, Angel." He smiled and nodded his head. "Before anything, I need to know about this magical ring. And, why I have never heard of such things." He smiled.

"This man I met, Damon, gave me this ring a few days after I met him. Said him and his brother had these rings made for them when they were turned, and when we befriended each other he was tired of only seeing me at night." We chuckled. "It's great. Taking me awhile to get use to the time change though. Eyes still sting a little."

"Well, it's great, Angel." Buffy and Angel smiled at each other and looked up as the waitress approached the table.

"What can I get you kids?" she asked.

We ordered our food and soon after received it. We ate in silence, I honestly was not sure of what to talk about. We haven't seen each other in years you would think no one could keep us quiet. After arguing over who was going to pay for breakfast, we paid and made our way out of the diner.

"Angel, what is there to do in this small town?" I asked. Anxious to start my day.

"Well, there is a festival going on tonight. They always have events going on in town every other weekend." I noticed him and Buffy were holding hands and exceptionally close. I would have to drill her for details later.

"That sounds great. We could part ways and meet back up tonight. I think Kennedy is wanting to have a nap." Kennedy jabbed me in the ribs.

"Ha! She was the one crawling out of bed this morning." She spat.

We all said our goodbyes and made our way to our cars. As soon as we were in the car and shut the door, I relaxed and rubbed my side.

"Sorry if I got you too hard." Kennedy looked at me in regret.

"No, it's fine. Did you notice them two? How couple-y they were?" I smiled and buckled my seat belt.

"Yes I did. They must be doing well." She started the engine. "We could go back to the hotel and relax."

"Bubble bath?" I squealed.

**-Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5 : The Return

**-Wrote all day! I'm excited that I got Chapter 5 done and posted! Please review and tell me what you think!**

**I do not own the characters.**

"Dawn... It's Buffy. I've called you four times already; you need to call me back. Me, Angel, Willow and Kennedy are going to the festival in town tonight. Please be there. Bye." I stuffed my cell phone back in my pocket. I was hoping that Dawn could have joined us for breakfast, but her phone kept going to voice mail. She could have forgotten her charger, but I should have been the responsible adult and gotten Elena's number, or at least where she lived. After all these years you would think I got this down, but, so far I can keep her alive and that's about it.

"I'm sure she will be there. Everyone in town goes to these things." Angel tried to comfort me. We had driven to this large pond on the outskirts of town. There were picnic benches and gazebos; we picked one and settled down to enjoy the day. It definitely felt like the dreams in my past, having the sun rays reflecting off of Angels' skin, without him bursting into flames. He squinted at that sun as he dug around in his jacket for sunglasses.

"You know, the only way to get used to it is to not use these." I snatched the glasses from his hands and hid them behind my back.

"Oh yea?" he said in surprise. We wrestled around, thankfully not breaking them, before he snatched them back and put them on. "But, they make me look cool." He said, with a stern and serious face. I chuckled and laid my head on his chest.

"Do you ever think that going to Los Angeles was a bad idea?" I asked. There were still so many things that I wanted to know from him. I just knew I had to be careful about certain things. Especially things about Cordelia. I'm pretty positive that I will never ask about her. While I was in Rome I had gotten ear that Angel was in love with Cordelia, and then some crazy stuff about her sleeping with Angel's son that came back through some dimension and was instantly years and years older over a month span. It was too much for me to take in at the time, so I'm sure it's still too much for him.

"I definitely use to think that. When I first left, every day I wanted to come back. But, something inside me kept telling me it was the right thing. That I could never give you what you needed in life and that I should leave you be." He leaned back across the grass with his hands behind his head as I gazed at him listening. "Now, I'm not so sure. There were so many good and bad things that happened after I left. I suppose everything happens for a reason. Maybe if I stayed we wouldn't be right here, together." I nodded and lay back on the grass as he did. "Do you think it was a good idea for me to leave?" he asked.

"Definitely not at the time. Honestly, I was a wreck for quite some time. But, looking back, yes. I always saw you in my future, so I just had to learn to be patient and hope to make it to that future. With the help of Willow, of course." We chuckled and laid in silence for a few moments. I watched as the clouds passed over. All of a sudden, a man walked in my view and blocked the sun. I sat up, as did Angel.

"Well aren't you guys all cute and stuff." Damon looked down at us with his sly smile. He plopped down next to Angel.

"What's going on, Damon?" Angel asked. For the first time it sounded like Angel was irritated with Damon intruding, it made me smile.

"Seeking some help." He responded. "I received a phone call stating my brother and his comrade are venturing into Mystic Falls tonight."

"His comrade? Is this the Klaus guy you mentioned to me before?" Angel asked, shifting in the grass.

"Yes. I haven't heard of or about them in a little over a year, and I have no clue why they are trying to come here." Damon stated.

"You want me to keep an eye out tonight?" Angel and Damon began to stand, as did I keeping to the back.

"Yes, are you taking her to the festival tonight?" Angel nodded. "Good. I will make sure I keep Elena in my vision tonight as well."

"Okay. See you there." With that Damon walked away shooting a wink at me before disappearing in the woods.

"What's this stuff about his brother?" I asked. We walked over to a bench and sat down, looking over the pond.

"I don't have too many details. Just that about a year and a half ago Stefan, Damon's brother, sacrificed his servitude to Klaus in exchange for Damon being saved. At first he and Elena were tracking him, hoping to bring him back, but they lost his trail. Apparently, Stefan was on this crazy blood diet, where he would only drink animal blood, but before the 50s I had heard of him. Then referred to him as the Ripper, so Klaus has been making him drink from humans and now he is back on the dark side of things." Angel concluded.

"Vampires are way more complicated here." I replied.

"Seems so."

"What does Elena have to do with all this?" I asked.

"When all this happened, Elena and Stefan were dating. Then there's all this mess about her being a Doppelganger with a curse, and how her Doppelganger is a vampire. It's a very long and confusing story." I grabbed his hand, rubbing my thumb over his fingers.

"It is very nice of you to help. And, I'll be here tonight to do the same." He smiled at me and kissed my hand. "Let's go back to the house and relax. I want to get ready for tonight."

* * *

><p>I awoke with a sharp pain in my back, I rolled over to see Dawn sprawled out across my head and Bonnie curled up in the fetal position on the other side. I need to remind myself next time to not have so many people crash in my bed. I sat up and brushed my hair out of my face. I reached for my phone on the night stand. It was blinking, displaying that I had ten missed calls. I flipped it open and they were all from Damon. I looked at the time, two in the afternoon? I had never slept this late! I threw the blankets off of me and went through the bath room to peek in at Jeremy. His bed was made and was nowhere to be seen inside. I brushed my teeth and got dressed, in the process waking up Bonnie.<p>

"What time is it?" she groggily asked.

"After two." I responded. She bolted up, almost knocking out Dawn.

"Are you serious?" she asked. "Jeremy didn't even wake us up?" Bonnie and Jeremy had been dating on and off now for over a year. Jeremy with his seeing ghost issues really put a strain on their relationship, but they were back on for right now.

"He's not here, maybe he had an early shift." I replied. "Damon called about a million times." After starting college this semester I hadn't seen much of Damon. He came to New York to visit once, and after being there for a few hours left. Since we had lost the trail of Stefan and Klaus things between him and I had gotten a little weird. I couldn't handle everyone's constant bantering about his feelings about me and if I was going to act upon them. So, I quit spending so much time with him and pretty much distanced myself up to going to college, since then, nobody has questioned us. He actually completely ignored my existence last night at the Grill.

"Have you called him back? Maybe something is wrong." Bonnie got up and got dressed, waking up Dawn. "Get up, girl." Dawn mumbled and turned back over. "Your sister might be looking for you today." After that, Dawn slowly got up and got ready to go as well.

I flipped open my phone again and dialed Damon's number.

"Hey." He answered.

"What's going on? Why the millions of calls this morning?" I asked.

"Where are you at? We need to talk." I sighed.

"At the house." I could hear his car start up in the background.

"Be there in a minute." Then he hung up. I stuffed my phone in my pocket and looked over at Bonnie.

"He's on his way." She rolled her eyes and took off down stairs.

"Who is on his way?" Dawn asked, still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Damon. He's an old friend." I replied. Not sure on filling her in on anything. We had only just started hanging out a few weeks ago. Would honestly like to have a friend that doesn't know how crazy my past and life is. Dawn shrugged her shoulders and followed Bonnie down the stairs. Before I could even make it to the door my window flew open and Damon stood in my room.

"Couldn't you use the door?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"Are you going to the festival tonight?" he asked.

"Yes." I walked over and closed my window, keeping a good space between us.

"Good, don't wander to far from me." I stopped and looked at him, dodging his eyes. His eyes is always what got me, I couldn't think straight after staring into them for a while.

"Can you tell me why?"

"I'd rather not." He replied. He never moved a step towards or away from me. A year ago he would have already been in my bubble, trying to get close to me.

"Look, I'm here this weekend to have a good time and see friends. Please don't ruin it for me." I stood, placing my hands on my hips.

"I understand that." He took a step back towards the window.

"You can use the front door this time." He rolled his eyes and stomped out of my room with me on his heels.

Bonnie and Dawn were in the kitchen making sandwiches, and instead of just leaving he had to make an appearance.

"Good afternoon, ladies." He said with his signature smile.

"Hello, Damon." Bonnie muttered, not looking up from her lettuce chopping. Dawn looked up and just stared at him. It was even starting to make me feel uncomfortable. He walked over to Dawn and grabbed her hand, kissing the top of it.

"And who might you be?" he asked. Dawn stammered out her name, blushing the whole time. "It's nice to meet you, Dawn. What a beautiful name." he let go of her and strolled out of the room. There was silence until you could hear the front door slam and his car start up.

"That's Damon?" Dawn squealed.

Me and Bonnie chuckled and rolled our eyes.

"Yes." I replied, joining them on making food.

"Is he single?" she asked. I nodded my head. "And, why haven't one of you claimed that already?" Me and Bonnie both looked up at the same time, Bonnie giving me a look. "Oh, I don't want to impose on something." Dawn refrained from her growing crush.

"No, there's nothing going on. We've never had a thing." I said.

"He just use to have a thing for Elena." Bonnie added. "But, I would keep my distance, Dawn. Trust me."

We quickly got off the subject of Damon and started discussing the evening's plans. Dawn had run back upstairs to call her sister about the festival, soon after she came back down out of breath.

"She was totally pissed about me not answering her calls, but down for tonight. Her and Angel are going to be there." She said.

"I can't wait to meet this Angel guy. And find out why he's buddy buddy with Damon." Bonnie said.

We ate our lunch and continued to discuss the night. Who we were hoping to see and what we were going to wear. Dawn, completely disregarding Bonnie's warning about Damon, asked what we thought he would like to see her in. We rolled our eyes and ignored her question, telling her about other guys in town we were going to introduce her to. Each time she mentioned him or I could tell she was thinking of him made my stomach turn. I really have never been associated with some one that thought the world of Damon and was so infatuated with him without being compelled. To be honest, I started getting a little jealous. Whenever I had gotten turned down for a date I always reminded myself that there was someone out there that loved me, and of course Damon would pop into my head. Or when I would get asked out on a date, I would decline because I would be comparing him to Damon. At first it was always comparing to Stefan, but that slowly went away when there wasn't much of anything good to compare to. I tried to snap myself out of it and smiled and continued to talk girl things with Bonnie and Dawn.

* * *

><p>"Are you ready?" Klaus walked out from the other room. He threw his duffel bag over his shoulder. "Where is Rebekah?" I turned back towards my room and she was still packing.<p>

"Still packing." I replied. We both headed to the kitchen to grab blood bags. "How long is this stay going to be?" I asked. It has been over a year since I had stepped foot in Mystic Falls, I was not looking forward to it.

"Not long, Stefan. I have to meet this man there; he just recently decided to settle there. I give you my word there is no other reason." He poured the blood into two separate glasses. "Although, if you would like you could always see your brother." He sneered.

"I'd rather not. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get them off our trail? To leave us be? And, we are going to just waltz right back in there." I fumed. The last encounter I had with Elena was only a few months after I had to follow Klaus. It was in Chicago, and she risked Damon's life to see me. This is why I am here in the first place, if Klaus decided to end Damon that night, all of it would have been for nothing. And, at the time, Klaus thought Elena was dead. Of course he knows now, he had to retrieve Rebekah's old necklace that I had given her to do a spell. Katherine had fetched it for him to be pardoned, and in turn revealed the secret. He was enraged, but his witch informed him that just because she came back to life didn't mean that the curse was not lifted. There was just a missing piece. Which takes us back here, going back to Mystic Falls.

"I know. You will just have to do it again. That's if they know of our presence. I give my word that I have no business with the Doppelganger." He stated. Rebekah walked out of the room handing me her bag.

"I am now ready." I kissed her softly on the lips and lead her to the doorway.

"I will have the car ready." I said to Klaus. He nodded and finished off his glass.

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! **


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